Pragma to debut London nightclub at Fairmont Dubai

Pragma Group, the Beirut-based lifestyle investment group, is set to launch an overseas branch of the London nightclub Cirque du Soir in Dubai next month.

The luxury hotspot will open its doors on 15 November at the city’s Fairmont Dubai hotel, featuring live performances from stilt walkers, burlesque dancers and fire eaters, the company said.

The club combines “circus theatrics in a clubbing environment,” Joe Tabet, executive chairman, said in an emailed statement.

Pragma already operates The 400 nightclub in the same venue.

The firm, which bought the franchise rights for the London brand in a multimillion-dollar deal, plans to launch a further three international Cirque de Soir outlets over the next three years.

Designer Stephane Dupoux, the name behind Buddha Bar in New York and Cocoon in London, has been hired to kit-out the club’s Dubai venue.

Cirque du Soir London opened its doors in 2009, and quickly made a name for itself as a celebrity hangout, attracting stars such as Usher, Lady Gaga and Leonardo Di Caprio.

Pragma Group said it May it planned to launch three Cavalli Cafes in Istanbul in the next eighteen months as part of a $150m global expansion.

The group, which currently operates the Cavalli Club in Dubai’s Fairmont hotel through a license agreement with the Italian fashion designer, also planned to expand the Cavalli Club brand in Miami, Moscow and London in the next three years.

Pragma also has a franchise deal with the former Formula One team boss Flavio Briatore.

The firm plans to use the billionaire businessman’s name for its redevelopment of Dubai Media City’s Palladium.